Brad Lomenick is back on the podcast and sits down with Carey Nieuwhof for a roundtable to discuss a number of trends in the church: church attendance, online engagement, the morphing of cool church, isolation in leadership and much more.

Plus, Brad and Carey talk about the vision behind the Rethink Leadership event happening in Atlanta, April 25-27th, 2018.

Welcome to Episode 181 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.

3 Insights from This Episode

1. Leaders should be mindful of the dangers of isolation

We live in a culture where we can be connected at all times, but the opposite is also true – the more connected we are the more disconnected we likely feel. We can be in a room full of people and still feel intensely alone. That environment is painful. It’s way easier to appear to have friends, when you really don’t.

Feeling alone often leads to isolation – withdrawing from community and retreating to the comfort of your own world. Leaders have to be intentional with their time to make sure isolation doesn’t become the norm. Bad things happen when you’re isolated, no matter how spiritual you are.

A great way to gage this is to think about how many hours you’ve spent alone in the last week versus authentically connecting with people. Don’t allow yourself to get trapped in that danger zone.

2. Online attendance can lead to engagement

Does regular online attendance equal engagement? That’s a tough one to measure. While it’s safe to say many online listeners prefer this option out of convenience, a growing number really are leaning in with this platform and increasing engagement because of the benefits of virtual church.

Offering an online option is something leaders need to take seriously in our culture. The mindset that the only way to deliver a message is by having people physically show up on Sunday mornings isn’t relevant anymore.

3. The next generation is all about leading with a team mindset

The point-person leader model isn’t going away, but an organization can’t revolve around only one person and be sustainable. As leading becomes more complex, it requires gathering competent people with a variety of expertise around the table at the senior level.

The next generation is all about leading with a team mindset. Collaboration is more attractive, well-rounded and productive. But a team without clarity creates confusion, which means there has to be someone who ultimately makes the decisions. A healthy balance is the goal.

Plus, I host a second podcast every month called the Canadian Church Leaders Podcast. If you’re Canadian, or just interested in ministry in a post-Christian culture, you can subscribe for free as well at:

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Next Episode: Cheryl Bachelder

In 2007, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen was suffering in the quick service food industry. It had gone through four CEOs in seven years. Trust and morale were at all time lows. By 2017, Popeyes had become one of the top performing franchises in the world with CEO, Cheryl Bachelder, leading the turnaround. Even more remarkable? She had been fired just a few years earlier as CEO of KFC. Cheryl tells her story and shares the principles that turned a has-been into one of the hottest companies in the US.